Girdin acts as an oncogene in gastric cancer by regulating AKT/GSK3ß/ß-catenin signaling.

ThE present work focused on exploring Girdin expression within gastric cancer (GC), examining the effect of Girdin on the cell phenotype of GC, and clarifying the underlying mechanisms. Girdin expression in GC samples was identified by immunohistochemistry (IHC) and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) assays. Girdin-targeting siRNAs were transfected into GC cells; later, we examined GC cell proliferation, migration, invasion, and apoptosis, respectively. Additionally, the protein expression was examined through Western blotting assay. Moreover, the tumor implantation experiment was conducted for examining Girdin knockdown in vivo. The results showed that Girdin expression elevated within GC samples, which was associated with the dismal prognostic outcome. Girdin knockdown suppressed GC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, and enhanced apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. Girdin promoted the phosphorylation of AKT, GSK3ß, and ß-catenin. Moreover, Girdin inhibited the phosphorylation of ß-catenin. Girdin suppressed cell apoptosis and stimulated cell migration and invasion, while AKT inhibitor (MK2206) treatment reversed the effect of Girdin overexpression, and GSK3ß inhibitor (CHIR99021) treatment enhanced the effect of Girdin overexpression on GC cells. Besides, Girdin delayed tumor growth in vivo. In conclusion, Girdin was abnormally expressed in GC samples, which promoted the development of GC by regulating AKT/GSK3ß/ß-catenin signaling.

High-dose amoxicillin-proton pump inhibitor dual therapy as first-line treatment for Helicobacter pylori infection in Northwest China: A prospective, randomised controlled trial.

AIMS: We aimed to assess the eradication efficacy and factors that influencing it of high-dose dual therapy (HDDT) in Gansu region, Northwest China. METHODS: A total of 216 treatment-naive patients with Helicobacter pylori infection were randomly assigned to two groups for the 14-day eradication treatment: the HDDT group (amoxicillin 750 mg q.i.d. and esomeprazole 40 mg t.i.d.) and the amoxicillin and clarithromycin-containing bismuth quadruple therapy group (ACBQT: esomeprazole 20 mg, bismuth potassium citrate 2 g, amoxicillin 1 g, and clarithromycin 500 mg; b.i.d.). The eradication rates, adverse effects and patient compliance of these two groups were compared. Eradication efficacy was determined by 13 C urea breath test (13 C UBT) 4-8 weeks after finishing treatment. Antibiotic resistance was determined by the Epsilometer testing (E-test) method. RESULTS: The eradication rates for the HDDT and ACBQT groups were 71.0% and 74.7% (P = .552) by per-protocol analysis, and 65.7% and 68.5% (P = .664) by intention-to-treat analysis. The overall adverse event rates in the HDDT and ACBQT groups were 2.0% and 43.4% (P < .001), respectively. The resistance rates to amoxicillin, clarithromycin, tetracycline, levofloxacin and metronidazole were 15.2%, 42.0%, 5.4%, 35.7% and 83.0%, respectively. Amoxicillin resistance and delta over baseline (DOB) of 13 C UBT ≥ 20 before treatment significantly reduced the eradication rate in 112 participants with H. pylori cultured. CONCLUSION: The HDDT as first-line treatment for H. pylori was unsatisfactory in Gansu. Amoxicillin resistance and DOB of 13 C UBT ≥ 20 before treatment were significantly correlated with H. pylori eradication failure.

Effects and mechanisms of resveratrol for prevention and management of cancers: An updated review.

Cancer is a severe public health problem. Resveratrol is a famous natural compound that has various bioactivities, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic and antiaging activities. Especially, resveratrol could prevent and treat various cancers, such as oral, thyroid, breast, lung, liver, pancreatic, gastric, colorectal, bladder, prostate and ovarian cancers. The underlying mechanisms have been widely studied, such as inhibiting cell proliferation, suppressing metastasis, inducing apoptosis, stimulating autophagy, modulating immune system, attenuating inflammation, regulating gut microbiota and enhancing effects of other anticancer drugs. In this review, we summarize effects and mechanisms of resveratrol on different cancers. This paper is helpful to develop resveratrol, crude extract containing resveratrol, or foods containing resveratrol into functional food, dietary supplements or auxiliary agents for prevention and management of cancers.

Prognosis assessment model based on low serum calcium in patients with acute pulmonary thromboembolism.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: The pulmonary embolism severity index (PESI) and simplified PESI (sPESI) are recommended to recognize patients with acute pulmonary thromboembolism (PTE) with low prognosis risk, which is of great significance for treatment. This study aims to verify the influence of hypocalcaemia on the prognosis of patients with PTE and to establish a new prognosis assessment model. METHODS: This is an observational, multicentre study enrolling patients with PTE from February 2010 to June 2020 across 12 Chinese hospitals. Variables in PESI, serum calcium levels and patient survival status as of 5 July 2020 were collected. The area under the curve of the receiver operating characteristic curve, sensitivity, specificity and Youden index were used to evaluate model performance. RESULTS: In the cohort of 4196 patients with PTE, independent associations existed between hypocalcaemia and mid- and long-term mortalities (p <0.05). By including hypocalcaemia, the new 30-day death risk prediction rule, Peking Union Medical College Hospital rule (PUMCH rule), showed significantly higher specificity (0.622 [0.582, 0.661]; p <0.001) than the PESI (0.514 [0.473, 0.554]) and sPESI (0.484 [0.444, 0.525]) and similar sensitivity (0.963 [0.810, 0.999]; p = 0.161) with PESI (0.889 [0.708, 0.976]) and sPESI (0.963 [0.810, 0.999]) in the internal validation cohort. Well-performing predictive validity was also verified on a constructed external validation cohort. CONCLUSION: Hypocalcaemia is independently associated with mid- and long-term PTE mortalities. The PUMCH rule showed significantly higher specificity than the PESI and sPESI and similar sensitivity, which may be used as a prognostic assessment tool for patients with acute PTE.

Anticancer Effects and Mechanisms of Berberine from Medicinal Herbs: An Update Review.

Cancer has been a serious public health problem. Berberine is a famous natural compound from medicinal herbs and shows many bioactivities, such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, anti-obesity, and antimicrobial activities. In addition, berberine shows anticancer effects on a variety of cancers, such as breast, lung, gastric, liver, colorectal, ovarian, cervical, and prostate cancers. The underlying mechanisms of action include inhibiting cancer cell proliferation, suppressing metastasis, inducing apoptosis, activating autophagy, regulating gut microbiota, and improving the effects of anticancer drugs. This paper summarizes effectiveness and mechanisms of berberine on different cancers and highlights the mechanisms of action. In addition, the nanotechnologies to improve bioavailability of berberine are included. Moreover, the side effects of berberine are also discussed. This paper is helpful for the prevention and treatment of cancers using berberine.

Accuracy of Molecular Amplification Assays for Diagnosis of Staphylococcal Pneumonia: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Rapid and accurate identification of staphylococcal pneumonia is crucial for effective antimicrobial stewardship. We performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the diagnostic value of nucleic acid amplification tests (NAAT) from lower respiratory tract (LRT) samples from suspected pneumonia patients to avoid superfluous empirical methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) treatment. PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Web of Science, and the Cochrane Library Database were searched from inception to 2 September 2020. Data analysis was carried out using a bivariate random-effects model to estimate pooled sensitivity, specificity, positive likelihood ratio (PLR), and negative likelihood ratio (NLR). Of 1,808 citations, 24 publications comprising 32 data sets met our inclusion criteria. Twenty-two studies (n = 4,630) assessed the accuracy of the NAAT for methicillin-sensitive S. aureus (MSSA) detection, while 10 studies (n = 2,996) demonstrated the accuracy of the NAAT for MRSA detection. The pooled NAAT sensitivity and specificity (with 95% confidence interval [CI]) for all MSSA detection were higher (sensitivity of 0.91 [95% CI, 0.89 to 0.94], specificity of 0.94 [95% CI, 0.94 to 0.95]) than those of MRSA (sensitivity of 0.75 [95% CI, 0.69 to 0.80], specificity of 0.88 [95% CI, 0.86 to 0.89]) in lower respiratory tract (LRT) samples. NAAT pooled sensitivities differed marginally among different LRT samples, including sputum, endotracheal aspirate (ETA), and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid. Noticeably, NAAT pooled specificity against microbiological culture was consistently ≥88% across various types of LRT samples. A meta-regression and subgroup analysis of study design, sample condition, and patient selection method could not explain the heterogeneity (P > 0.05) in the diagnostic efficiency. This meta-analysis has demonstrated that the NAAT can be applied as the preferred initial test for timely diagnosis of staphylococcal pneumonia in LRT samples for successful antimicrobial therapy.

Crystallographic Visualization of a Guest-Induced Solar-Driven Cycloaddition Reaction Based on a Recyclable Nonporous Coordination Polymer.

Stimuli-responsive solids with adjustable photophysical properties are particularly attractive because they can be used as smart materials in anticounterfeiting, information storage, holographic imaging, and other fields. Herein, we report a unique nonporous coordination polymer, {[Ag(3,3'-dpe)](2,2'-Hbpdc)}n (1; 3,3'-dpe = 1,2-dipyridin-3-ylethene and 2,2'-H2bpdc = 2,2'-biphenyldicarboxylic acid), that can convert to an extremely photoreactive compound, 1·H2O·MeCN (MeCN = acetonitrile), through guest capture. Upon irradiation of sunlight, 1·H2O·MeCN can transform to {[Ag(3,3'-tpcb)0.5](2,2'-Hbpdc)(H2O)(MeCN)}n (2·H2O·MeCN; 3,3'-tpcb = 1,2,3,4-tetrapyridin-3-ylcyclobutane). 2·H2O·MeCN can lose its solvent molecules to form 2 and further return to 1 at high temperature. Accompanied by direct visualization based on multistep single-crystal-to-single-crystal conversions, the recyclable crystalline solid exhibits remarkable fluorescence changes, which makes it a supramolecular switch for application in multiple anticounterfeiting.

Overexpression of kinesin superfamily members as prognostic biomarkers of breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: Kinesin superfamily (KIFs) has a long-reported significant influence on the initiation, development, and progress of breast cancer. However, the prognostic value of whole family members was poorly done. Our study intends to demonstrate the value of kinesin superfamily members as prognostic biomarkers as well as a therapeutic target of breast cancer. METHODS: Comprehensive bioinformatics analyses were done using data from TCGA, GEO, METABRIC, and GTEx. LASSO regression was done to select tumor-related members. Nomogram was constructed to predict the overall survival (OS) of breast cancer patients. Expression profiles were testified by quantitative RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry. Transcription factor, GO and KEGG enrichments were done to explore regulatory mechanism and functions. RESULTS: A total of 20 differentially expressed KIFs were identified between breast cancer and normal tissue with 4 (KIF17, KIF26A, KIF7, KIFC3) downregulated and 16 (KIF10, KIF11, KIF14, KIF15, KIF18A, KIF18B, KIF20A, KIF20B, KIF22, KIF23, KIF24, KIF26B, KIF2C, KIF3B, KIF4A, KIFC1) overexpressed. Among which, 11 overexpressed KIFs (KIF10, KIF11, KIF14, KIF15, KIF18A, KIF18B, KIF20A, KIF23, KIF2C, KIF4A, KIFC1) significantly correlated with worse OS, relapse-free survival (RFS) and distant metastasis-free survival (DMFS) of breast cancer. A 6-KIFs-based risk score (KIF10, KIF15, KIF18A, KIF18B, KIF20A, KIF4A) was generated by LASSO regression with a nomogram validated an accurate predictive efficacy. Both mRNA and protein expression of KIFs are experimentally demonstrated upregulated in breast cancer patients. Msh Homeobox 1 (MSX1) was identified as transcription factors of KIFs in breast cancer. GO and KEGG enrichments revealed functions and pathways affected in breast cancer. CONCLUSION: Overexpression of tumor-related KIFs correlate with worse outcomes of breast cancer patients and can work as potential prognostic biomarkers.

Exploring the value of the double source CT angiography in diagnosing in-stent restenosis in lower limb artery.

OBJECTIVES: This paper is aimed to explore the value of double source CT angiography (DS-CTA) for diagnosing in-stent restenosis in lower limb artery. METHODS: From January 2016 to October 2018, all patients with stent in lower limb artery in our hospital were investigated by both DS-CTA and digital subtraction angiography. We measured the minimum lumen diameter and the diameter of the proximal normal vessels under each stent placement. The in-stent restenosis is defined as restenosis when the lumen area decreased by more than 50%. Digital subtraction angiography was performed within 1 week after DS-CT scan. Relationship between DS-CTA and digital subtraction angiography for diagnosing in-stent restenosis in lower limb artery was analyzed. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of DS-CTA for diagnosis of in-stent restenosis were analyzed with digital subtraction angiography as the reference standard. A total of 68 stents were placed in 51 patients. Among these patients, 27 cases were diagnosed as in-stent restenosis, presenting as endovascular contrast agent bias or crescent filling defect with the lumen area reducing over 50%, 6 cases of which had no significant in-stent restenosis by digital subtraction angiography analysis. Furthermore, 12 cases were occlusion, in which there was no high density contrast agent in stents; the remaining 41 stents were unobstructed and the contrast agent was filled well, 8 cases of which had significant in-stent restenosis by digital subtraction angiography analysis. In addition, four stents were deformed or distorted. Statistical analysis demonstrated the concentrations of DS-CTA and digital subtraction angiography in diagnosing in-stent restenosis for lower limb artery were closely related, and the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of DS-CTA were 72.4%, 84.6%, 77.8%, 80.5%, and 79.4%, respectively. CONCLUSION: DS-CTA has a potential reliability for diagnosis of in-stent restenosis in lower limb artery, which may be further improved to be used for clinical interventional treatment of vascular diseases.

Association of IL-6, IL-10 and TGF-ß1 gene polymorphisms with brucellosis: A systematic review with meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Brucellosis is one of the major public health problems worldwide. Several current studies have provided data that polymorphisms in the interleukin-6 (IL-6), interleukin-10 (IL-10) and transforming growth factor beta1(TGF-ß1) gene were associated with the susceptibility to human brucellosis, but the results remain inconsistent. OBJECTIVES: The aim of present study was to investigate the relationship between IL-6 (-174 G/C), IL-10 (-1082 A/G, -819C/T) and TGF-ß1 (codon 10, codon 25) gene polymorphisms and brucellosis. METHODS: We performed a comprehensive search of the PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, OVID-EBMR, and the Cochrane Library up to Oct. 30, 2018. The search was designed using the following key words: "brucellosis" or" "brucella melitensis", "IL-10" or "interleukin10" or "interleukin-10", "IL-6" or "interleukin6" or "interleukin-6", "TGF-ß1" or "TGF-beta1" or "transforming growth factor ß1", "polymorphism" and "single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)". Crude odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to measure the strength of association between TGF-ß1, IL-10 and IL-6 polymorphisms and brucellosis risk. All the statistical analyses were conducted by Review manager 5.3 software. RESULTS: A total of 8 studies involving 1308 cases and 902 controls met the inclusion criteria for IL-6, IL-10, TGF-ß1 polymorphisms and brucellosis risk. There was a slightly trend of increasing risk of brucellosis in individuals with the G allele compared with individuals with the C allele (OR = 1.07, 95% CI: 0.85-1.33, P = 0.57) in IL-6 polymorphism. However, statistical analysis showed that these differences are not significant. Our results suggested TGF-ß1 (codon 25 G/C) GG genotype may be considered as a risk factor for brucellosis (OR = 1.67, 95% CI: 1.12-2.50, P = 0.01). Herein, we failed to find any significant association between IL-10 (-1082 A/G, -819C/T), TGF-ß1 (codon 10C/T) gene polymorphism and susceptibility to brucellosis in all gene models. CONCLUSION: IL-6 (-174 G/C), IL-10 (-1082 A/G, -819C/T), and TGF-ß1 (codon 10C/T) polymorphisms is not a risk factor for brucellosis infection. TGF-ß1 codon 25 GG genotype may be considered as a risk factor for brucellosis.

MicroRNA profile of immune response in gills of zebrafish (Danio rerio) upon Staphylococcus aureus infection.

The gills of fish are large mucosal surfaces that are very important portals for pathogen entry. Investigations have shown that microRNAs (miRNAs) are key regulators of immune response to bacterial infections in the gills of fish; however, how miRNA expression changes in response to infection by Gram-positive bacteria remains largely unknown. To further investigate the immunological role of miRNAs in fish gills under pathogen stress induced by Gram-positive bacterial infection, this study investigated Staphylococcus aureus (SA)-induced changes in the miRNAs levels in gills of adult zebrafish (Danio rerio). miRNA microarrays were used to analyze expression profiles of known miRNA in the gills of zebrafish in response to SA infection and compared these to uninfected control fish. A total of 30 differentially expressed miRNAs (DEMs) were identified. Target genes likely regulated by DEMs were predicted, and functional enrichment analyses were performed. The results indicated that DEM targets were primarily involved in innate immune processes, apoptosis, defense responses, and antibacterial responses. Pathways involving bacterial infection, innate immunity, metabolic process, disease, and apoptosis were mediated by DEMs. Furthermore, real-time quantitative PCR experiments for nine key SA-responsive DEMs that regulated the "SA infection" pathway validated the accuracy of microarray results. Dynamic variations in gene expression were surveyed in detail for these key SA-responsive DEMs for PBS control and at 6, 12, 24, and 48 h after SA challenge in detail. This study provides novel insight into the mechanisms underlying the miRNA regulation during the SA-induced immune response in zebrafish gills, and provides basic knowledge on the innate immune response against Gram-positive bacterial infection in bony fish.

Simultaneous VENTANA IHC and RT-PCR testing of ALK status in Chinese non-small cell lung cancer patients and response to crizotinib.

BACKGROUND: ALK rearrangement-advanced NSCLC patients respond to crizotinib. ALK rearrangement is currently determined with RT-PCR. VENTANA IHC is a standard method to identify ALK protein overexpression in NSCLC; however, VENTANA IHC has rarely been used to determine the response to crizotinib in Chinese patients with NSCLC and ALK overexpression. To better clarify the clinical implication of VENTANA IHC to detect ALK rearrangements, we conducted this study to analyze VENTANA IHC and RT-PCR in a large cohort of Chinese patients with NSCLC undergoing screening for ALK rearrangements. METHODS: A total of 1720 patients with NSCLC who had ALK rearrangements detected by VENTANA IHC and/or RT-PCR were included in this analysis. We compared the efficacy and survival of ALK-positive patients detected by VENTANA IHC and RT-PCR. We used NGS to identify patients in whom the two methods were inconsistent. RESULTS: Among 1720 patients, 187 (10.87%) were shown to be ALK-positive by VENTANA IHC and/or RT-PCR, and 66 received crizotinib treatment. We identified 10.27% (172/1674) of patients as ALK-positive by the VENTANA IHC method, and 12.73% (41/322) of patients had ALK rearrangements by the RT-PCR method. Twenty-nine of 276 (10.51%) ALK-positive patients were simultaneously analyzed using VENTANA IHC and RT-PCR. The overall response rates were 65.90% (29/44) by VENTANA IHC and 55.88% (19/34) by RT-PCR. The disease control rates were 86.36% (38/44) by VENTANA IHC and 76.47% (26/34) by RT-PCR. In contrast, the median progression-free survival for VENTANA IHC and RT-PCR was 8.5 and 9.2 months, respectively. The VENTANA IHC and RT-PCR results obtained for 6 of 17 ALK-positive patients were inconsistent based on NGS; specifically, 4 patients had EML4-ALK fusions, 2 patients had non EML4-ALK fusions, 1 patient had a KCL1-ALK fusion, and one patient had a FBXO36-ALK fusion. CONCLUSIONS: VENTANA IHC is a reliable and rapid screening tool used in routine pathologic laboratories for the identification of suitable candidates for ALK-targeted therapy. VENTANA IHC has moderate sensitivity and a slightly higher association with response to therapy with ALK inhibitors, and some VENTANA IHC-positive, but RT-PCR-negative cases may benefit from crizotinib.

Effects of lipid A acyltransferases on the pathogenesis of F. novicida.

Francisella novicida is a gram-negative pathogen commonly used to study infections by the potential bioterrorism agent, Francisella tularensis. The Francisella lipid A structure has been well characterized and showed to affect the pathogenesis of F. novicida. Previous work characterized two lipid A acyltransferases, LpxD1 and LpxD2, and constructed the lpxD1-null and lpxD2-null mutants. Mutational analysis showed the lpxD1-null mutant was attenuated in mice and subsequently exhibited protection against a lethal WT challenge. However, details as how the virulence has been changed have remained elusive. This study aims to analyze effects of lipid A acyltransferases on the pathogenesis of F. novicida. MS and MSn were conducted to confirm the lipid A structures of lpxD1-null and lpxD2-null mutants. The stress tolerance, Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) stimulation level, intracellular survival and replication ability and cytotoxicity of lpxD1-null and lpxD2-null mutants were analyzed. The results suggested the lpxD1-null mutant with shorter acyl chains in lipid A is more sensitive to various environmental stresses than F. novicida and lpxD2-null mutant. In addition, the lpxD1-null mutant fails to survive and replicate in cells and shows lower cytotoxicity to infected cells. This study provides insights into the pathogenesis of F. novicida.

The Highly Connected MOFs Constructed from Nonanuclear and Trinuclear Lanthanide-Carboxylate Clusters: Selective Gas Adsorption and Luminescent pH Sensing.

The highly odd-numbered 15-connected nonanuclear [Ln9(µ3-O)2(µ3-OH)12(O2C-)12(HCO2)3] and 9-connected trinuclear [Ln3(µ3-O)(O2C-)6(HCO2)3] lanthanide-carboxylate clusters with triangular and linear carboxylate bridging ligands were synergistically combined into Ln-MOFs, [(CH3)2NH2]3{[Ln9(µ3-O)2(µ3-OH)12(H2O)6][Ln3(µ3-O)(H2O)3](HCO2)3(BTB)6}·(solvent)x (abbreviated as JXNU-3, Ln = Gd, Tb, Er; BTB3- = benzene-1,3,5-tris(4-benzoate)), displaying a (3,9,15)-connected topological net. The JXNU-3(Tb) exhibits highly selective CO2 adsorption capacity over CH4 that resulted from the high localized charge density induced by the presence of the nonanuclear and trinuclear cluster units. In addition, JXNU-3(Tb) with high chemical stability and characteristic bright green color exhibits fluorescent pH sensing, which is pertinent to the different protonation levels of the carboxylate groups of the benzene-1,3,5-tris(4-benzoate) ligand with varying pH.

[The Inhibitory Effect and Mechanism of Human Umbilical Cord Mesenchymal Stem Cells on Prostate Cancer Metastasis].

OBJECTIVE: To test whether umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells (UMSCs) can inhibit the growth and metastasis of prostate cancer cells, and to investigate the mechanism. METHODS: The UMSCs from human umbilical cord tissue were isolate by explant technique. After being co-cultured the UMSCs with LNCaP and PC-3 cells for 24 h, 48 h and 72 h, LNCaP and PC-3 cells' proliferation were tested and the 72 h proliferation inhibitory rate (IR) was calculated. Transwell invasion assay was used to test the migration and invasion abilities of prostate cancer cells after being co-cultured with UMSCs for 48 h. The invasion IR were calculated. The expression of matrix metalloproteinases (MMP)-2, MMP-9, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP)-1 and TIMP-2 in the 72 h co-culture supernatants were tested by MILLIPLEX®MAPmethod. RESULTS: The proliferation of prostate cancer cells was inhibited after being co-cultured with UMSCs. The proliferation rate of LNCaP was lower than control group at 72 h (P<0.05), and the proliferation IR was 37.21%. The proliferation rate of PC-3 was lower than control group at 48 h and 72 h (P<0.05), and the proliferation IR was 31.27% at 72 h. Transwell invasion assays showed that co-culturing 48 h with UMSCs inhibited the invasive abilities of LNCaP and PC-3, and the invasion IR were 48.35% (LNCaP) and 46.91% (PC-3). Co-culturing 72 h, the expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9 were down-regulated (P<0.05) and the secretion of TIMP-1 and TIMP-2 were up-regulated (P<0.05) compared with control group. CONCLUSION: UMSCs can inhibit the proliferation and invasion abilities of prostate cancer cells by secreting TIMPs, the antagonist of MMPs, which suppressed the overexpression of MMPs.

TRPV6 is a prognostic marker in early-stage cervical squamous cell carcinoma.

Transient receptor potential vanilloid 6 (TRPV6) has been shown to promote caner proliferation in several solid tumors, leading to unfavorable clinical outcomes. Our study aimed to elucidate the clinical significance of TRPV6 in patients with early-stage cervical squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC). The mRNA expression of TRPV6 was measured in 12 paired early-stage CSCC specimens and six cervical carcinoma cell lines using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). Western blotting and immunohistochemistry (IHC) were employed to examine the protein expression level of TRPV6 in four paired specimens, 175 paraffin-embedded early-stage CSCC specimens, and 50 normal cervical tissues (NCTs), respectively. Statistical analyses were performed to evaluate the clinical significance of TRPV6 expression. The expressions of TRPV6 mRNA and protein were both significantly downregulated in early-stage CSCC tissues and cervical cancer cell lines. IHC analyses revealed that TRPV6 was downregulated in 136 (77.7 %) of 175 early-stage CSCC specimens. Moreover, TRPV6 expression in early-stage CSCC was significantly correlated with the tumor stage (P < 0.001), tumor growth type (P < 0.001), tumor size (P = 0.008), and differentiation grade (P = 0.003). The early-stage CSCC patients with a low TRPV6 expression level had a short progress-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) duration. Univariate and multivariate analyses identified TRPV6 as an independent prognostic factor for early-stage CSCC patients' survival. We demonstrated that TRPV6 was downregulated in CSCC, which was correlated with unfavorable survival outcomes of early-stage CSCC patients. TRPV6 may be used as a novel prognostic marker for early-stage CSCC.

Identification of Two Genes Encoding for the Late Acyltransferases of Lipid A in Klebsiella pneumoniae.

Lipid A, the hydrophobic anchor of lipopolysaccharide, is an essential component in the outer membrane of most gram-negative bacteria. It is recognized by the TLR4/MD2 receptor of the innate immune system, which triggers an inflammatory response accompanied by massive overproduction of cytokines and leads to gram-negative septic shock. Human pathogen Klebsiella pneumoniae, which may synthesize two lipid A species, differs by the length of the secondary acyl chain. In this study, we identified two genes encoding the putative late acyltransferases of lipid A biosynthesis pathway in K. pneumoniae. Based on the sequence alignment, proteins YP_002239312.1 encoded by KPK3489 and YP_002239899.1 encoded by KPK4096 are homologous to E. coli LpxL, which were designated as LpxL1 and LpxL2, respectively. Functions of the two acyltransferases were confirmed by overexpressing the genes in E. coli, isolating lipid A and analyzing their structures using an ESI/MS. Like E. coli LpxL, K. pneumoniae LpxL1 transfers a C12:0 secondary acyl chain to the 2'-position of lipid A, while K. pneumoniae LpxL2 transfers a C14:0 secondary acyl chain to the 2'-position primary acyl chain of lipid A. These two acyltransferases might play important roles in the biosynthesis of lipid A and the innate immune system recognition in K. pneumoniae.

Automatic Extraction of Tunnel Lining Cross-Sections from Terrestrial Laser Scanning Point Clouds.

Tunnel lining (bare-lining) cross-sections play an important role in analyzing deformations of tunnel linings. The goal of this paper is to develop an automatic method for extracting bare-lining cross-sections from terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) point clouds. First, the combination of a 2D projection strategy and angle criterion is used for tunnel boundary point detection, from which we estimate the two boundary lines in the X-Y plane. The initial direction of the cross-sectional plane is defined to be orthogonal to one of the two boundary lines. In order to compute the final cross-sectional plane, the direction is adjusted twice with the total least squares method and Rodrigues' rotation formula, respectively. The projection of nearby points is made onto the adjusted plane to generate tunnel cross-sections. Finally, we present a filtering algorithm (similar to the idea of the morphological erosion) to remove the non-lining points in the cross-section. The proposed method was implemented on railway tunnel data collected in Sichuan, China. Compared with an existing method of cross-sectional extraction, the proposed method can offer high accuracy and more reliable cross-sectional modeling. We also evaluated Type I and Type II errors of the proposed filter, at the same time, which gave suggestions on the parameter selection of the filter.

Responses of soil fungal community to the sandy grassland restoration in Horqin Sandy Land, northern China.

Sandy grassland restoration is a vital process including re-structure of soils, restoration of vegetation, and soil functioning in arid and semi-arid regions. Soil fungal community is a complex and critical component of soil functioning and ecological balance due to its roles in organic matter decomposition and nutrient cycling following sandy grassland restoration. In this study, soil fungal community and its relationship with environmental factors were examined along a habitat gradient of sandy grassland restoration: mobile dunes (MD), semi-fixed dunes (SFD), fixed dunes (FD), and grassland (G). It was found that species abundance, richness, and diversity of fungal community increased along with the sandy grassland restoration. The sequences analysis suggested that most of the fungal species (68.4 %) belonged to the phylum of Ascomycota. The three predominant fungal species were Pleospora herbarum, Wickerhamomyces anomalus, and Deconica Montana, accounting for more than one fourth of all the 38 species. Geranomyces variabilis was the subdominant species in MD, Pseudogymnoascus destructans and Mortierella alpine were the subdominant species in SFD, and P. destructans and Fungi incertae sedis were the dominant species in FD and G. The result from redundancy analysis (RDA) and stepwise regression analysis indicated that the vegetation characteristics and soil properties explain a significant proportion of the variation in the fungal community, and aboveground biomass and C:N ratio are the key factors to determine soil fungal community composition during sandy grassland restoration. It was suggested that the restoration of sandy grassland combined with vegetation and soil properties improved the soil fungal diversity. Also, the dominant species was found to be alternative following the restoration of sandy grassland ecosystems.

The efficacy of lamivudine prophylaxis against hepatitis B reactivation in breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Lamivudine has been recommended as prophylaxis for the reactivation of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection in patients undergoing chemotherapy. However, information on breast cancer patients in particular has been lacking. The purpose of this meta-analysis was to assess the overall efficacy of lamivudine prophylaxis compared to untreated patients with hepatitis B S-antigen (HBsAg) seropositive breast cancer who had undergone chemotherapy. METHODS: Studies that compared the efficacy of treatment with lamivudine prophylaxis versus no prophylaxis in HBsAg seropositive breast cancer patients were identified through Medline, Cochrane, and Embase databases. RESULTS: Six studies involving 499 patients were analyzed. The rates of HBV reactivation in patients with lamivudine prophylaxis were significantly lower than those with no prophylaxis (risk ratio [RR] = 0.23, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.13-0.39, p < 0.00001). Patients given lamivudine prophylaxis had significant reductions in the rates of hepatitis attributable to HBV compared with those not given treatment (RR = 0.20, 95% CI: 0.08-0.47, p = 0.002). The rates of moderate and severe hepatitis in patients with lamivudine prophylaxis were significantly lower compared with those patients who had not received prophylaxis (RR = 0.25, 95% CI: 0.10-0.62, p < 0.003; RR = 0.25, 95% CI: 0.10-0.59, p = 0.002). Patients given lamivudine prophylaxis had significantly fewer disruptions of chemotherapy (RR = 0.36, 95% CI: 0.21-0.64, p = 0.0004). There was no significant heterogeneity in the comparisons. CONCLUSION: Lamivudine prophylaxis in HBsAg seropositive breast cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy is effective in reducing HBV reactivation and HBV-associated morbidity and mortality.